I'll Have to Say I Love You In a Song
by NoRoleModelz
Summary: Minato Arisato and Yukari Takeba were childhood friends, once. Reuniting after a long period of separation, the two of them attend the prestigious Gekkoukan University—but as they begin to reconnect and fall back on good times, something unspoken arises between them both. Something that could either draw them closer together or drive them further apart. [AngstyCollege!AU]
1. Picture Frames

_Deep sleep aviations, in conversations with constellations_  
 _Midnight trepidations, the detonations of self-deprecation_  
 _I don't need you anymore  
I don't need you anymore_

 _But love, when I close my eyes  
I'm lying next to you_  
 _And I don't want memories  
To fade like pictures do  
In these picture frames_

 _~Picture Frames,_ Rei Brown

* * *

She realizes what time it is, and practically scrambles out of bed.

She's been so caught up with registration and getting her units that she doesn't really blame herself for forgetting, not that that excuses her. She doesn't bother much with the makeup or the hair, even though she's got a bedhead that even Junpei would give her grief over; because she knows the person she's picking up won't really care too much about how she looks.

Now, she is wearing a simple pink jacket (of course) with a light-blue shirt underneath. She is wearing black jeans and brown loafers, her ever-present and now fading-in-color choker wrapped around her neck. Despite it being spring, she finds the weather still rather cold. Leftover from winter, she supposes. Here's to hoping her jacket keeps her relatively warm.

In the end, she thinks she looks acceptable enough to get out the dorm and rush to the station. As she zips out her door, she's met with Fuuka and Mitsuru, who greet her and ask why she's in such a rush; Yukari doesn't have much time to explain, and as she sprints she simply calls back _I'm meeting up with a friend_ without even turning around to face the two. She'll make it up to both of them later, she's sure they'll understand.

When she gets out the dorm she finds that the sky is grey, even though it's practically evening, and snow's dotting the world. It's not intense at all; the snow's not so bad on the roads, and it's rather pleasant to walk over it on the sidewalk. So she's not really complaining. She flips open her phone, reads the texts, and cringes at herself.

 _R u there?_ he asks.

 _I'm heading to the station_ , she texts back.

 _K_ , he responds.

 _I'll be right there!_ she declares. _Just wait for me. :)_

And he responds again, _K._

It takes fifteen minutes waiting around the bus stop that she realizes she's not getting a ride anytime soon. It's not really a problem, she figures.

The trip to the station isn't long, and it's easy for her to get there in less than thirty minutes by foot. Timing shouldn't be so much of a problem for her; rather she's freaking out over what she could _say_ to him. She's anticipated this for a long time. Practiced for hours that felt like days. What she could say, what he could say, what she could say to what he's said. If he's brusque, she'll have to be okay with it. If he's receptive to _talking_ , then she'll be more than happy.

Because in the end, it's progress, and it's all she can really hope for at this point.

All the while she keeps her eyes on the cityscape, and wonders how much of this place he remembers. While the skyscrapers and the monorails and the bright lights of Iwatodai are all too familiar for her, she can't help but think that perhaps he'll be sallow and dour; perhaps he'll think they're giants, looming over him and watching him squirm. But she remembers soon enough that she should be hopeful.

He's been texting her, which is more than what he's done with anybody in a long time. He's the one who initiated the move back to the city in the first place. She hopes he's doing this out of some honest attempt at self-improvement; she doesn't want to force him to come back to a place full of bad memories. From his texts, he at least seems like he's trying to make something of this place; like he's actually trying to move on from what happened.

She hopes he's not trying too hard.

When she's close enough to the station to see it yet too far to actually enter it, she feels something nostalgic in her chest. It's enough to actually make her stop in her tracks, and she sifts through her pockets to get her wallet out. She takes a look at the small photo in one of the folds, and she gives something like a smile. It's faded and it's saturated and the sensation of old photo paper on her fingers still has that strange sort of _feel_ to it, but when she sees his smile she steels herself because in the end the same boy in the photo is not the same one she's going to meet up with.

When she sees him, she just sees him sitting on a bench, idly staring at his phone and swiping in seemingly random directions as people pass him by. She gets butterflies right then, recalling days when they were just children stuck in overwhelmingly difficult circumstances.

There had been a time when he'd smile often, being genuinely joyful at being around his family members and the few friends he'd made. That didn't last very long. Some part of her thinks that she's been waiting all this time for nothing. A larger part of her ignores that, and tells her that in the end she's no better.

So she makes herself stand upright and puts on the best kind of smile she can muster; one that's big enough for him to see that she's happy to see him, but at the same time not so large so as to put him off.

Yukari realizes at this point that there's always something sad about reunions.

"Hey. Minato-kun?"

He is shaking. His legs are shaking. He is uneasy. They see each other, they know who the other person _is_ , and they can't help but be silent, they can't help but be still, because they are together for the first time in the longest time.

His eyes are sallow at first, and they're as grey as ever, but when he sees her, as in really _truly_ sees her he lets out a smile. It's a small smile, a tired one, but it's a smile, and it's something she's grateful to see. Though he looks like he hasn't slept in ages, she has to admit he's grown up nicely. His face still has soft contours but are firm enough in just the right places. The massive fringe haircut looks a little outdated, but it works with him, it complements his eyes. And though his skin is pale, it's clean enough that she can figure some _girls_ getting jealous of him. She's still just a little bit taller, so she has _that_ going for her, at least.

He's wearing a grey overcoat that wouldn't look out of place in a snowier setting, and he's got black jeans over black socks and some leather shoes. He's also got large silver earphones draped over his shoulders, and while she's not familiar with the model and thinks that his clothes are overall kind of drab, she can't help but smile and notice how broad his shoulders have become.

She remembers being seven, the both of them; she remembers being inconsolable and she remembers him just locking himself away from the rest of the world. A thousand words a day with each other became nothing. Time's not been kind to either of them in that respect as well; and she hopes he's at least made some friends during his time in America.

"Yukari," he says with a smile. "How've you been?"

His voice, she'd actually almost _forgotten his voice_. He has an accent now, though; a distinctly Western one. But he says her name so easily that you'd think no time passed at all between them.

She lets herself smile just a little bit wider, and she says, "I've been good," before deciding to just smile as wide as she can, "I've been great. It's really good to see you again."

"You too," he says simply, hands in his pockets, still with those tired eyes of his.

She pulls some of her hair back under her ear and asks, "You wanna eat out somewhere before I get you to the dorm? There's just so much I've got to tell you about."

He nods, and the way he nods you'd think he's being brusque, but she knows that that's just him. "Any place in mind?"

"There's a really good cafe nearby," she responds, thinking of _Chagall_ , "you drink coffee?"

He smirks, "I could actually do with some coffee right now. Trip was tiring," he yawns, pulling his duffel bag behind him.

* * *

There was a time in their lives when neither of them could talk to anyone. Cooped up in their rooms, they'd mourn and shrivel up, refusing to go outside because they're afraid of thinking that nice things could happen to them again. But they're older now, and they like to think they've gotten over themselves enough to have a decent conversation, at least.

Neither of them decide it'd be good to talk about their parents, and instead resort to what they've been doing recently.

"Heard you're taking archery?" he asks her.

She shrugs, "It's fun, I suppose. Relaxes my nerves well enough. There's just something about it that's satisfying, I think. Though, I doubt I'd be good enough to get in the big leagues or anything."

He smiles, because just like old times, she's the one talking more. "That's nice. Though, what course are you taking?"

"Performing Arts," she replies, smiling back.

"You're thinking of becoming an actress?" he says, stirring his silver spoon in his half-empty cup. "Or a dancer?"

"An actress," she replies. "Taking theatre. It's actually kinda fun to go on stage, reciting poetry and all that. It's a little nerve-wracking at first, but you get used to the crowds. It's always great to hear them applaud at the end of it all."

"Didn't you break out crying onstage during our first elementary school play?" he asks, grinning kind of smugly.

"Don't even!" she laughs, despite herself. "That was embarrassing. I can't believe you still remember _that_ , of all things."

"I also remember that you tried to keep it secret that you watched Featherman—"

"Nothing wrong with that," she smirks, folding her arms playfully. "It's just a childish indulgence. You'd be surprised at how big of a female demographic the Featherman fanbase has, these days. The characters' relationships are all surprisingly maturely handled for a kid's show."

" _Otaku_ ," he smirks in faux-derision, to which she gives an intentional exaggeratedly-offended look. So he backpedals and says, "Glad to see you're handling it well enough, though. This acting thing."

"It's a bit tedious to memorize lines and try to compensate when your co-actors fumble the script up," she sighs, recalling an incident on-stage that involved green paint and messy breakups and Juliet suddenly shrieking like a harpy. "But it's always fun to get into a character's head and try to...figure out how they work, I guess. Their motivations, their personalities, stuff like that. But anyway, look at _you_ , getting into Creative Writing."

"Well," he smiles, "I mean, it's fun to write stories. Like you said, it's nice to figure out characters' motivations and personalities and stuff. Though I don't think I'll find myself getting many readers. I doubt I'll be J.K. Rowling or anything, with her twelve mansions and net worth in the millions..."

Then she props up her face with her hand, "Still into music?"

He waves his hand at her dismissively, "I'm not much. I'm fine with a guitar. Fine with most instruments, I guess, but I don't think I'm particularly really good at any one of 'em. I'll most likely end up a backup drummer, if I ever get into a band."

"Write any songs, though?" she asks.

To which his face turns a little pink, "That's a secret."

"You've written some songs," she says, to which he faces away from her in clear embarrassment. "Do you have the lyrics on you? Have you produced them yet, gotten them out there?"

"I've a Soundcloud account," he smirks at her, recalling all the _stupid_ love songs he'd write when he was a dumb idiot hormonal thirteen-year old, "but it's barren."

"You're an artist who doesn't produce music?" she raises her brow.

"I produce music. It's that all my songs suck, so I end up deleting them like a month after I've uploaded them."

She sips a bit of coffee and says, "I'd have liked to listen to them. I'd like to hear you play."

"I mostly use samples. I'm trying to get singing down right, but in the end I don't think I have the voice for it," he admits. "I drone too much."

"Practice makes perfect," she says. "If you've got some songs still on you, like in your laptop or whatever, I'd be happy to listen to them."

"Is that an admission that you'll take me out to whatever show you'll be a part of?" he asks, raising his own brow.

"Sure!" she says. "Besides, I'll need all the support I can get, while I'm onstage. Every actor-slash-actress does."

"Anyone offer you any jobs yet?" he asks.

"Nope," she responds. "Which is normal. It's when our final year comes, that we really need to pull out all the stops. The final play attracts indie directors, veteran directors, actors from stage and film, all over Japan. There's always a need for new talent, after all."

"I can't wait for when you do Romeo and Juliet and trip on your own heels," he grins widely.

She opens her mouth and slaps him lightly on his shoulder, "Rude! Geez...," though she smiles despite it all. Because she can _totally_ picture that happening, too. And then she asks, "How was America, by the way?"

"New York's a big place," he says, sipping his cup. "Though it can get a little rough around the edges here and there. People like to shout a lot, and it's weird how easy it is for them to talk to each other. And, if you ever decide to go there yourself, get like _several_ jackets to bring along with you, because when it's cold it's freezing."

"Duly noted," she said. "Though, you said it was rough around the edges...?"

"Lived near the Bronx, is all," he says, smiling a little sadly in the ripples of his cup. "But enough about that. This dorm I'm going to...how is it?"

"Minatodai's...big. Everyone in there's a little eccentric, but you shouldn't be too worried. Just remember that the guys' floor is the third, and the girls' is the second. Nobody crosses those boundaries, or else Mitsuru-senpai has your hide."

" _Mitsuru-senpai_?" he asks her.

"She's a friend. Daughter of the person running Gekkou U," Yukari smiles. "She's a little cold at first, but she's nice once you get to know her."

"How'd you become friends with _her_?" he asks.

"Same dorm, rooms across from each other," she shrugs. "Plus, we get annoyed over the same things, so there's that."

"How're the other occupants...?" he asks.

"They're nice. Though some of them can be a little annoying," she says, remembering Junpei complaining to her back in high school about how their school festival got cancelled 'cuz of the rain and as such he was denied the sight of her in a maid outfit. "They're all good people, though. Nice to talk to."

He looks down at his hands, clasped together on the table, and she sees his index finger twitch.

She places her own hand on his, and says, "They're perfectly good people. You don't have to be scared of them. They know when to give you the space you need."

He nods simply, "Okay," then smiles. "I'll hope I'm worried over nothing, then."

His hands ball up into fists. She knows what he's remembering. She's remembering the same thing, though she doesn't know that she is. They're eating on the rooftop of her house, eating at Hagakure together, buying things at the mall, belting out tunes at Mandragora, Yukari giving him light slaps along the face for some comment he made about how she never kisses him—

"You want to head out?" Yukari asks. "It's getting late. I should show you to the dorm."

To which Minato says, "Sure."

Yukari reaffirms to herself that yes, there's always something bittersweet about reunions.

They're meant to bring back together those who have been separated by time, by distance, by whatever fate decreed would have to keep them from remaining at each other's side. And yet, when a reunion does occur, there's always this air of nostalgia makes everything feel so...temporary.

Even the concept of reunions is a bit shabby now, as websites like Facebook and Twitter exist, rectifying the issue of separation. But what those sites cannot replicate is that feeling you get when you actually _see_ that friend of yours with whom you haven't met or hung around for the longest time. No matter how many years have gone by, or how much time has tempered you or your friend, you see each other and you both immediately return to a younger, possibly happier time. And then for any reason imaginable, you have to leave your friend, but you both promise to talk to each other again, to meet up with each other again.

She doesn't know how much she doesn't want him to leave, this time around. And he doesn't know how much he wants to stay with her, at this very moment. All they can think about now is how much time they've lost, both wondering how much of ten years ago the other remembers.

They're both hoping that by remaining friends, neither of them will end up dredging up memories of crashing noises, and fires, and millions of unsaid words.

* * *

 **A/N:**

* * *

Thought it'd be interesting to do an AU without Shadows or Personas or the Dark Hour. Now. I've always been a massive MCXYukari fanboy, and the thought of having a plain slice-of-life story involving the two of them just being college students trying to struggle with the newfound stress of being an adult sounded great to me.

Plus, it helps that they have all the emotional baggage in the world.

The story's gonna focus on them and how they go through life as college students, all the while facing the multiple inconveniences and maddening scenarios they find themselves in, thanks to the general tumultuousness of college itself and all sorts of unresolved tension from past experiences I won't delve into right now.

This used to be a series of (kind-of?) songfics based on CipherPrinceofDreams' _Days of Summer_ , where Minato came back to life and would continue his relationship with Yukari from there, but what I want to do is try my hand at plain, boring, simple, utterly normal romance wherein all the struggle and angst has nothing to do with the supernatural and has everything to do with stupid kids being themselves and trying to make the most out of all the nonsense they have to deal with in the real world.

 **EDIT 2/9/18  
** Fixed up some small inconsistencies.


	2. Gravity

_Gravity is working against me_  
 _And gravity wants to bring me down_

 _Oh I'll never know what makes this man_  
 _With all the love that his heart can stand_  
 _Dream of ways to throw it all away_

 _Oh, gravity is working against me_  
 _And gravity wants to bring me down_

 _~ Gravity,_ John Mayer

* * *

The walk to the dorm is silent, but neither of them would have it any other way.

The cityscape is strange to Minato. He doesn't recall the buildings being as tall as they are now. He remembers there not being that many skyscrapers, in Iwatodai, when he was but a wee lad. But it reminds him of New York, so he's half-comforted. If everyone's as nice as Yukari's been, he figures he should be alright. But he knows that there's always a dark corner in every city. So he's still on-edge. Looking over his shoulder, the hairs on the back of his neck standing a little.

He's anxious, and a small part of him doesn't know why. From what he can remember, Iwatodai's gang problem wasn't _that_ bad. At least not as bad as it could get in the Bronx. Maybe things have changed, however. Maybe he's not being cautious enough.

But then he sees Yukari just staring ahead calmly, walking in the snow without a care in the world. And he's calmed down a little.

The air's cold, but it's not the American kind of cold. It smells different, smells less lively somehow. He's not used to the kind of clamor in the streets; the cars honk their horns and the people chatter without a care in the world, but nothing's _loud_. It's not what he's used to, this sort of atmosphere. It's all too calm, all too formal. But he'll get used to it. It's just a whole new world.

That's all, isn't it?

He thinks about what could happen at the dorm. And he's afraid, for some reason. He really shouldn't be. He trusts Yukari's judgment, but it's just him. He knows it's just him, like it's always been. There's a pattern he follows, when he makes a new friend. An almost ritualistic process. Taking in deep breaths, he'd approach his target, then fail at a conversation, then hate himself, then try again with the same person two days later. If the person grew to dislike him after the two days, or if he'd grow to dislike the person, he'd give up. Otherwise, a friend would be made.

Which is why he has so few numbers in his phone.

Yukari's walking alongside him, and he wonders how she can just stand there, next to him. How she's gotten even prettier since the last time they met. She looks like she'd be popular. Which terrifies him, because he _knows_ what his eyes look like; if someone from Gekkou U saw them walking so casually like this, they'd probably jump to conclusions.

She probably has a boyfriend.

But that's most likely the case, here. Why wouldn't she have a boyfriend? After all this time.

He shouldn't be so agitated, over nothing. There's worse things to endure. He's wondering how his inflections must sound to her, to others; he's not stupid. He read up on Japan a lot before coming back.

He can say without hyperbole that Japan's got more than a little issue with _gaijin_. Would he be counted as an outsider? He was born in Iwatodai, but raised mostly in New York. So perhaps he'd be a little strange to people. He's glad that his aunt and uncle still spoke to him often in Japanese. He's glad that he was able to hold a relatively decent conversation with Yukari, even after all this time. And he's glad to see that she's still able to smile.

Even after everything.

He looks at her now. Something about the frays in her hair. The way it curls under her ears, the way the fringe just hangs over her eyes enough to give them that sort of look. The way she's able to pull off a smile without letting it be too wide, and how she can laugh in ways that'd just make his knees weak.

It's nothing. Nothing at all. And he knows it. They're friends, and that's enough for him. That'll _have to be_ enough for him. When they reach the dorm, he's for an instant overwhelmed at just how _large_ it is. But then he realizes it's not supposed to be unexpected; it's a co-ed dorm for one of the most prestigious universities in all of Japan. Doesn't stop his knees from trembling, nor his neck from sweating.

"You okay?" Yukari asks him.

He thinks to lie for a second, but decides against it. "I'm nervous. Really nervous."

She just puts a hand on his shoulder, "They're all great people. I'm positive that you'll have nothing to worry about."

"It's not just that," he shakes his head.

These days, Minato has little else to do but dream.

In fact, the dreams are so vivid he sometimes finds himself believing he's still alive. The dream immediately changes when he least expects it to, when he least wants it to. It's the way the dreams often tease him with the promise of something he can never have that just breaks him.

Once, there was a time when the dreams weren't so bad. He even thought he could live with them, if he knew that they were dreams and repeatedly bashed himself over the head with that knowledge. And then Yukari started appearing in his dreams. More and more of her.

At first, he'd see her with him, the both of them watching the sunset together while on the rooftop of the school. Nothing else really happened from there. The whole dream was like that, and then it would end, switching to a scene of him and her eating noodles at Hagakure Ramen. In the dream, she would notice a small piece of spice on the edge of his mouth and rub it off with her finger, chuckling, and he still, to this day, does not know why she would chuckle. He'd then feel himself blush as he would turn away and drink a glass of water, and she'd chuckle again at his embarrassment.

He doesn't know how many times he's wished for a dream to _not_ be a dream, and as such he feels that it would be useless to wish for that ever again. But then, of course, he'd see Yukari and himself window shopping, buying medicine, buying new equipment, playing games in the arcade, watching a cheesy romance movie, watching a laughable horror movie.

And then at one point he saw her crying. He saw her holding his hand and weeping, weakly asking him to promise her he'd come back.

It feels so strange. Everything does. He wonders if he'll end up waking up again, from all this.

He can talk to Yukari because she's an old friend and he can lower his defenses around old friends. He can't remember the last time he actively attempted conversation with a stranger. He admits that he didn't exactly make great strides in his social skills, despite Americans generally being more social than the Japanese. The last thing he wants is a repeat of...

If that happened again, he'd never be able to face his uncle, or his aunt, or anyone else. Not even Yukari.

Maybe he just needs a beer. Or a blunt. Or maybe not. Japan's probably more strict on those kinds of stuff...

"We don't have to go in right now, if you don't want to," she says. "We can go someplace else. Eat out again, catch up on more stuff. There's a cinema just a few blocks away."

The more cynical part of him is silently chiding Yukari for pitying him so. Still, though, Minato feels something warm in his chest. It's really nice to know that somebody cares. She's been trying to make him feel as secure as possible, but he's still so antsy about things that he'll make sure will _never_ happen.

"Let's go," he says. "I want to meet everyone."

Yukari's expression is ambiguous for a moment, but she then lets out a very large smile, taking Minato by the hand. He just hopes he won't end up destroying that smile, like he has with so many other things.

He knows exactly what he wants, in the end. And he's scared of messing that up.

* * *

He remembers to bow the moment he sees a young woman with cascading red hair.

"My name is Minato Arisato," he says, hoping that he doesn't sound too fidgety. "It's nice to meet you."

Has he responded with the proper etiquette for this sort of thing? People don't _bow_ to each other in America, so the sensation's really strange on his part. Nevertheless, her response comforts him somewhat.

"Likewise," she says, walking forward congenially. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I hope you'll find Gekkoukan University to your liking. We have very high hopes for you."

She puts so much pressure on him with those few words it's unbelievable. Her eyes are sharp, but not piercing. She presents herself as aloof, to a degree, but he figures she'd be far from anti-social. She's smiling at him, and despite her making him feel extremely insecure, she's at least optimistic about his future, which is a lot he can ask out of someone as it is.

Scholarship wasn't easy to get. Every night felt like a cram session, but he thinks it was all worth it.

"I'm glad to have made it," he says, finding it in himself to be a little more informal. He gets out of the bow and puts his hands behind his back, so as not to show her how his fingers are twitching.

"Takeba will accompany you to Gekkoukan in the next few days; give you a tour of the place, and such," she says then. "I'd like to join you both, but unfortunately I've other duties to attend to."

"How can student council _already_ be giving you assignments?" Yukari cuts in then.

"I volunteered, actually," she smiles. "Various organizations and other such groups are asking approval from student council to induct new members and hold events."

"No one else was willing to take on the job?" asks Yukari.

"No," she sighs. "But it's nothing unusual. Besides, it relaxes me, filling out forms; it gets my mind off things." Then she turns back to Minato. "How was the trip?"

Minato clears his throat, "I am a little tired. Flight was thirteen hours long. Or fifteen. Not completely sure. But otherwise I'm alright."

She nods, "It's good that you were able to make it in one piece. I shouldn't take up any more of your time. It's getting late, so you should get some rest. Your room is on the third floor, at the end of the hallway."

"Thank you," Minato bows again.

"No need for that," she says, chuckling a little. "Just rest up as much as you can. Classes begin three days from now." She then turns to Yukari. "Would you like to give him a tour of Gekkoukan? I'd like to myself, but I'm quite busy."

"I'm cool with that," Yukari responds, turning to Minato. "So, when would you like to head out?"

"Day after tomorrow sounds alright with me," Minato shrugs.

"Great." Then she grabs one of Minato's bag of luggage, "I'll show you to your room."

Before Minato can properly protest, she gets to the staircase. "Wait, um, I should get my bags up myself —"

"You're tired and you need to rest," she says pointedly.

Minato initially tries to insist that he has to bring his own bags up to his room, but in the end lets her continue her way up the stairs. He's drowsy and dizzy and weak-kneed and he's not even got the full brunt of the jetlag yet. Might as well let her on her way.

Getting up the stairs is a challenge in and of itself. But her presence makes it so much easier than he thought it would.

* * *

When she and he get up to his room, he sees the bed and he's immediately ten times more tired than he thought he was.

Yukari props the bag of luggage right up against the frame of his bed and exhales, turning to him, "All set. You okay?"

Minato smiles soberly, nodding. "I'm good. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she says. "Would it be okay with you if I brought other people along on the tour? Or..."

He nods, "That's fine," because even though the idea of talking to new people scares the daylights out of him, he thinks he can tolerate it if she's there all the while.

Besides, if Yukari trusts these people, then they mustn't be too bad. Right?

"Alright," she says, smiling and heading to the door.

Once she gets her fingers on the doorknob, Minato stares at the back of her head and something in him is telling him _don't let her go yet_. "You want to hang out on Sunday? Just the two of us? There's..." _Just say it, coward. It's not too hard. She knows you._ "There's a lot more I want to talk to you about."

She just turns to him, smiling a little sadly, "Sorry, but I can't on Sunday. My friends from Archery said we need to have a get-together, at least before school starts. I'd be happy to hang out, but I'll be busy. But...does next Saturday sound good to you?"

"Sure," I tell her. "Though, I have classes until 1:30."

"Same here," she smiles. "Let's meet at the shopping center."

"Shopping center?"

"You'll know it when you see it."

Then Minato's eyes glaze over a bit. He sees her face, really and truly now, and for a moment he struggles to wonder if all of this is even real. Even happening. Maybe this is just a dream, after all.

"What's wrong?" she asks him suddenly, her face markedly concerned.

He blinks. "It's nothing, it's just...," he scratches the back of his head. "It all seems unreal."

"What does?" she asks.

"It's just that, well...at some point in my life, I honestly thought I'd never see you again." And then he just comes outright with, "I missed you."

She just says, "Me, too." She's not smiling. She's not somber, she's not really emotive. But she says that matter-of-factly, as if she's lived with that for a long time. "We'll talk on Saturday. I know a great place we can hang out," she says. "I just know you'll love it."

He finds it in himself to smile genuinely now, "I'll hold you to that."

She studies his face a little, and decides she likes it. "You should smile like that more often."

He smirks, "Would I have a better chance of attracting the ladies?"

"I guess so," she shrugs.

He feels a pang in his chest like a ton of bricks at her rather casual remark.

"But it's not _the ladies_ I'm thinking of," she continues. "I like it when you smile that way. You look like..."

Minato blinks, because she's just not saying anything right now, "I look like...?"

She blinks, pursing her lips and turning away, "Never mind. It's just...it's nice to really see you again, Minato."

He lets her leave, and she leaves just in time. She doesn't see the red begin to form on his face, nor does she see that he remains standing in that spot for another few moments. Then he plops himself into his bed and just sits there, his forearms on his knees and his back hunched over. Change his clothes? No. He's too tired to care about that.

He sinks into his sheets.

For a moment, he wonders how she's become so well-adjusted to everything. How she's still so able to talk to other people, even form groups of friends to meet up with over the weekends, while even now the only reason he can talk to _anybody_ is either because he has to or because they have a connection with her.

It's at this point he thinks that perhaps it's all too good to be true. Maybe Yukari's not as well-adjusted as he thinks. Maybe she's still lingering on the past, like him. Maybe she's hurting inside, maybe she's no better than he is. Or maybe he's just the one with the problem, and Yukari's the mature adult who's grown past such things. He doesn't think he's jealous of her. It just feels strange. As though she's far away, and he's just in the same place he's always been.

It's not nostalgia he feels. Not really. It's more, an affirmation that things will not be the same between them as they were before. He has to accept that. He knows that if he doesn't, he'll ruin all of this.

They're different. Far too different, now. There's just been too much time. Even now, as he drifts off to sleep, he can't help but think of days where he and she were just children, because at least then they were young enough and foolish enough to laugh and be free and never have to care about the world.

* * *

 **A/N:**

* * *

So. Now we're set up with our two principal characters; next chapters, we're gonna have Minato interact with other P3 fan-favorites such as Junpei and Fuuka and so many more in a grand tour of the new Gekkoukan University! Glad to see all the positive reception this fic's gotten. Now, I'm going to do something completely drastic in my "career" as a fanfiction writer:

Actually physically respond to them in the A/N. I know, shocking development, especially for me, but I think it's high time I actually try doing this sort of thing. Good to reply to those who take the time to read my stories, after all.

ajani's apprentice  
Well, judging from how this chapter exists, I'd say that answers your question on whether or not this is multi-chapter XD  
Hope you like my take on the ship, the characters, and the _P3_ universe as a whole through the eyes of a college student.

Nakasu Malakiel  
Thank you! This is officially a multi-chapter fic, and I hope you enjoyed all the developments here! Hope my take on the ship pleased you enough for you to continue reading.

Jay Hayden  
It was weird, seeing how few _Persona_ college AUs there were, when the story and the characters were ripe for that sort of thing. I hope this one's up to your standards, because putting the _Persona_ cast in a college setting will be weird for me to do. There's all sorts of added complications being an angsty college student does to an established character, after all.

sykotiksonik  
The greatest thing about the _Persona_ characters, I feel, is how they're able to be such interesting characters that if you put them in a scenario where Personas mean nothing, they'll still be able to make a compelling story on their own. Hope you like this fic, considering all the drama the characters'll endure in the future! :D As for Aigis and the other supporting characters, I hope you like what I've got planned for them, too! Because, to put it bluntly, they're gonna be the most divergent from the main story. Sort of.

GrimReaperJr1232  
Actually, Minatodai _is_ the name of the dormitory, as officially stated in the guidebook. It's crazy, I know :P but what's even crazier is that you share my love for fluff fics with tragic backstories :D Hope you stick around for more in the future.

Myalko  
Hope you liked this chapter too, and all the chapters to come. Because they're gonna get real dramatic over time :P

smack77721  
Glad you liked the first chapter, and I hope this fic works to your standards as a Mina/Yuka shipper! :D

In hindsight, this is a lot better to do than just reading the reviews.

 **EDIT: 3/31/18  
** Changed the title, and fixed some continuity errors within the chapter.


End file.
